Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven L. Abrams was elected chair of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) at the July 27 meeting of the SFRTA Governing Board. At the same meeting, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro was elected vice chair. Commissioner Abrams has been a member of the SFRTA Governing Board since August 2010. Commissioner Barreiro has served on the Governing Board from November 2000 to July 2003, returning in January 2006.
Commissioner Abrams is the first SFRTA chairman to also be a regular commuter on Tri-Rail, which is operated by SFRTA. “I have a passenger perspective,” Abrams said. “I know first-hand what Tri-Rail means to the economy of South Florida when each day I join hundreds of workers, students, and tourists traveling throughout our region.”
Abrams has been serving on the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners representing District 4 since 2009 and has a lengthy record of public service. He is the former mayor of Boca Raton and was named Mayor Emeritus when he stepped down in 2008 due to term limits.
Commissioner Abrams also served five terms as a city council member in Boca Raton from 1989 to 1999 and was a member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board from 1987-1989. He is past-president of the Palm Beach County League of Cities and a founding board member of the Florida League of Mayors.
Commissioner Abrams gained national exposure and local respect during the first bioterrorist attack in American history when anthrax was discovered at the AMI Building in Boca Raton, in October 2001. Abrams received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Israel National Police for his leadership during the ordeal. He testified on national television on the government’s response at the invitation of a United States Senate subcommittee.
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Government
